I don’t want to jinx us but I think spring is finally here to stay. There are a lot of gardening activities going on right now by everyone. It seems everyone is trying to do catch up all at the same time. Our extended forecast looks very promising with some good temperatures and rain in our forecast for this coming weekend. Then we cool down again but nothing threatening. I think we are good to go with all our outdoor gardening chores.
Our soil temperature is now at 60 degrees, which is great for planting. Just remember to keep newly planted shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals all watered well.
Here are a few gardening chores that we should be doing this month:
- You should fertilize azaleas once they have finished blooming. Espoma Azalea Tone is an excellent choice of food. Also, azaleas can be pruned, if necessary, after they have finished blooming.
- Boxwood leafminer is going on right now. I have had two customers report seeing small insects swarming their boxwoods. These insects will sting the leaf of the boxwood and lay eggs inside the actual leaf. For best control, we recommend a systemic insecticide that contains the active ingredient imidacloprid. We carry a BAYER product called TREE & SHRUB PROTECT & FEED that will give you a 12-month control.
- START YOUR ANNUALS!!!! Now is the time to pull up your winter pansies and replace with these beautiful summer-blooming annuals.
- START YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN!!! It is now safe to be planting tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, etc.
- Once spring bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, etc have finished flowering you can cut off the old blooms. But, allow the foliage to die back naturally before you cut it to the ground. This foliage is feeding the bulbs. Now is a good time to fertilize these bulbs. We recommend using Espoma Bulb-Tone.
May is lining up to be a fantastic planting month!!!
HAPPY GARDENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!